Iran test fires anti-vessel missile: top commander

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Iran test fires anti-vessel missile: top commander
Tehran Times Political Desk

TEHRAN – Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari announced here on Monday that Iran has test fired a new naval weapon that could destroy any vessel in a range of 300 km (190 miles).

Jafari refused to give further details but noted, “This is a completely domestic missile. It has passed the required experiments and is under mass production now.”

“Today, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps has the capability to target the enemies’ targets with a wide range of missiles and in a few minutes in case of any attack,” the top commander said in a press conference.

In response to a question on whether Iran will close the Strait of Hormuz in case of an attack on Iran, the commander replied, “The Strait of Hormuz is an important and strategic strait. … Considering its proximity to our shores, it is completely within the range of our weapons and shutting the strait for an unlimited time is easily possible. There are no limits for us in this regard.”

40 percent of the world’s oil exports pass through this strait and analysts have warned its closure will uplift oil prices.

The commander also dismissed the news of a joint Iran-Venezuela military maneuver, saying, “No joint maneuver is set to be conducted by the two countries.”

He also pointed out that the Great Prophet III maneuver was conducted successfully and yielded the desired results.

“I strongly emphasize that the maneuver was successful,” Jafari said.

He went on to say that the missiles were test fired as scheduled but the unprofessional photography made the tests seem bogus.

On recent media speculations that Israel and United States may use Iraqi airspace to attack Iran, the commander pointed out such an attack is “highly improbable”.

Recently, there has been a wave of propaganda campaign by western media on a possible strike on Iran by the U.S. and Israel over its nuclear programs.

The U.S. and Israel have repeatedly claimed Iran is trying to access nuclear weapons while the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has reported no violations so far. Iran’s nuclear program is under IAEA’s complete surveillance.

On armed forces’ advanced technology, he said, “Today, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps is equipped with a wealth of advanced domestically-produced weapons which is not comparable to the past.”

Source
http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=174601